Weave a Thousand Flavors

A Good Morning with Lemon, Pistachio & Cranberry Biscotti

Some things in life are worth the risk of a thickening waist line.

And some mornings deserve a steaming hot cuppa, a good book, risk be damned!

Fortunately for me, there aren't that many things I would gorge on willy nilly, though mind you I do believe I could eat my  body weight in bread.

But home made biscotti is one of them.

Coffee's true mate, it is the sure and definative 15th century hottie that beckons again and again.

I've made the traditional Almond and Orange biscotti out of Prato, earlier on.

This twist on the traditional is simply wonderful and the very best way to pay homage to Nature's most passionate nut ~ the pistachio.

Lemon zest and sweet dried cranberries come out to play and the three together are simply naughty and oh so nice!

For the Young & the Old & the In Between ~ Oatmeal Butterscotch & Choco Chip Cookies

I don't make cookies too often. There are too many things on my must-make list and life is simply just too short to keep up.

But when I do it's usually because I'm jonesing a sweet morsel or the snack box is empty with the boys tummies rrrumbling. Either way, it's always when time is in short supply so I turn to my usual stash of in-a-jiffy cookie recipes that never fail me.

This one definitely falls in my fave top 10. So good with just enough flour to hold the oatmeal together, redolent with the scent of orange zest and just the right dash of different to keep me coming back.

I have not yet met a person, young or old, who didn't love them and asked for more. Now that's saying something. Especially when it comes to my 'chocolate-is-my-kryptonite' hubby.

Not to mention these are tailor made for a glass of cold milk.

Dunking, not optional!

A Kiddie Favorite, All Grown Up ~ Cheese & Z'atar Straws

 
There are few things yummier than puff pastry cheese straws.

I don't care how old you are, a batch of these coming out of the oven will have you swooning.

So here's taking a classic and turning them into a all-grown-up-gourmet variety that will appease not only the kiddies around the holiday table but all adults with discerning paletes.

Let's be clear about one thing though - this post hardly classifies as a recipe. After all, can a recipe with 3 ingredients, namely, aged parmigiano reggiano cheese, z'atar and frozen puff pastry sheets and 15 minutes in the oven be classified as such?

Who the heck knows!

One bite and they'll be your next best friend when ever company is over or you want to make a ooh-la-la statement without letting on that you hardly broke a sweat fixing these.

For kitchen divas everywhere, here goes!

Holiday Baking ~ Easy Peasy Cherry Linzer Bars

 

The Linzer Torte is said to be the oldest-recorded 'cake' in the world going back to the early 1600's and is an Austrian torte with a lattice design on top of the pastry. It's named after the city of Linz in Austria.

The torte is a crumbly pastry made with flour, butter, eggs, hazelnuts or sometime other nuts and is traditionally covered with a red current jelly or sometimes raspberry jam if almonds are used. It is then finished with very thin strips of pastry to form a lattice.

The difficulty level in making this torte varies depending on the recipe you use - the Wolfgang Puck recipe calls for piping the lattice on using a pastry bag which is quite difficult.

For a simply exquisite rendition turning these into cookies, I adore my friend Steve's version at oui,chef.

The Linzer bars here are an easy interpretation of the traditional recipe. I have been making batches and batches of these all week as holiday gifts for my son's teachers, bus stop buddies & afternoon treats.

They are simply scrumptious as they are delicious requiring no genius skill level. In fact any one who can follow a recipe, has use of their hands & nimble fingers can make these quite successfully.

They'll be a hit at office pot lucks and because they're so easy to transport around, I think they're an excellent candidate if you're on the lookout for a delicious, un-fussy holiday recipe.

Try these and see for yourself!

Boozy English Rocks ~ 'Low-fat-but-you'll-never-know' Fruitcake Cookies

I have no doubt that most of my grocery budget during the months of November and December goes towards dried fruit.

If you've ever tried purchasing candied peel, currants and glazed cherries any other time of the year, you know that it's like pulling teeth. Most grocery stored carry these items seasonally which is why I stock up!

Mostly because many of my holiday recipes require pounds & pounds of the stuff which should tell you that I'm crazy for the old world recipes, come the holidays. From traditional boiled pudding which is a whole other blog post, to Scottish Dundee cake & my Cherry Raisin cake  from some years ago, we sure love our dried fruit.

If you're like us and if your love for dried fruit is to second only to your love of brandy in edible bite size pieces, then these boozy cookies have your name all over them.

Ridiculously easy to make and made healthy with use of whole wheat flour and minimal use of butter, they are also excellent for vegetarians since eggs are omitted altogether.

Mind you, biting into these you'll never know! I made a batch of these yesterday for fellow mums & dads who wait with me to collect our younglings at the school bus stop, and not only were  polished off with great speed, I had to promise to post the recipe right away - which is what I'm doing.

 

Lunch Box Treats ~ Chewy Oatmeal, Coconut & Fruit Cookies

The need for healthful lunch treats seems to be a constant challenge for us mothers with school going kids.

Not to mention hubbies who get peckish at tea time at work.

Lets face it, with the no-peanut-butter rule in place in many of the US schools, P B & J sandwiches, cookies and what-nots may be well and good in fuzzy family flicks and commercials on the tele but not quite in the real world - at least in my real world.

And then I've got my own criteria to reckon with,

not fried. Check.

no preservatives. Check.

100% whole grains. Check.

dry fruits. Check

low on sugar. Check.

and most importantly,

chewy & delicious. Check. Check.

Because if your home is anything like mine, healthful is great but it won't go down well around here if it isn't just simply delicious for both kiddos and grown-ups alike.

Now I like my cookies chewy not thin and stiff because if I wanted a thin crisp cookie then for godssake call it 'thins' and then I know what to expect.

But don't call a 'thin' a cookie. Nope sirree.

And that's got everything to do with the dough-thickness-to-the-spread ratio. If you squish the cookie dough too thin it will end up spreading into a nearly flat cookie in the heated oven invariably resulting in a dry and hard cookie.

Chewy & delicious.

That's my kind of cookie and judging from the fact that I have about 6 left in the cookie tin, no questions asked, tells me that healthful, delicious and chewy happens to be right up the alley for the rest of my flock too.

So if you're jonesing for a cookie full of whole wheat, oatmeal, apricots, cranberries and coconut and all of this in a chewy bundle sounds just too delicious for words, then you're part of my flock.

Check.

The Last Hurrah Before School ~ Cherry & White Chocolate Blondies

 
I don't know about you but it seems that summer has sped by in a blink of an eye.

Such days have now come to an end. Sigh.

I love summers. Not just because of the farmers market stands, the ability to wear light cotton blends, shelve pantyhose for a while and enjoy warm sands & cool breezes.

I like having the kids around - all day.

Sharing the couch quietly reading with the sounds of Tom & Jerry permeating from the next room, fixing peanut butter & banana smoothies, not to mention faux sword fights with cardboard shields (you know I have boys) & the scent of SPF cream from their skin from the endless hours spent at the pool. 

So I can't believe it's all about to change - tommorrow.

Yikes!

And it seems that that's not all that's about to change. Cherries were here one minute and now they seem to be making a hasty departure through the August door.

So I'm determined to fix a treat that will not only delight the younglings and grown-ups alike but one which would feature cherries as a crown jewel. I've tweaked my traditional choconut bars recipe and I just know that I've opened the door to endless possibilities in the future (think nut flours).

Let's face it - Blondies unheard of in other parts of the globe are a quintessential American favorite. Blondie because they're a paler cousin of the rich, dark brownie. Thank goodness we don't have to be politically correct when it comes to food!

This simple version however, results in incredibly moist & rich Blondies that are delicate & fudgy - different in that they don't use brown sugar & whole morsels of white chocolate that punctuate a bite but rather molten chocolate that runs through & through - seamlessly.

Ripe summer cherries delightful in every respect hit all the right notes with their sweet, fresh and ever-so-slightly-tart flavors turning these simple treats into something quite extraordinary.

15th Century Hottie ~ Biscotti with Almonds & Orange

Biscotti a term referring to all biscuits in Italy has become synonymous with these - the twice baked variety.

Isn't it fascinating that even today we love foods that hail from as far away as the 15th century?

Because it's here that the origins of this beloved biscuit lie in a small town outside Tuscany called Prato which is at the center of the slow food movement. The first biscotti to come out of this little town was made only with almonds.

The twice baking process is that the dough is baked once, then cut into biscuits, turned face up and baked again. What this does is it gets rid of moisture in the biscuit and therefore allows these lovelies to be stored for long periods of time without the risk of mold.

Consequently these became quite popular with sailors off on long voyages to sea. So much so that it is documented that these crunchy munchies were quite the favorite of Christoper Columbus.

Think on that the next time you dunk a biscotti in your favorite cuppa!

Speaking of double baking and getting rid of moisture and what-not, I don't know about you but the off chance I do purchase some commercially prepared biscotti, I am almost always put off by how hard and dry they are & it makes me wonder if I should be making an appt with my dentist before I bite into the biscuit!

So lets be clear, if you like your biscotti hard and dry, then this will certainly not be your cup of tea (or biscuit) but if you like your crunchy, crusty & crumby (the 3 c's indeed) then you will love these!

So much so, that I am taking this recipe that has been perfected after pouring over countless recipes & mediocre runs over the years and teaching it at my 'A summer Italian Luncheon' Culinary class this week end.

The great news is that though biscotti hails from 500 years ago, anyone who can shape a meat loaf, has played with clay & can slice bread can make these. And this is good to know because once you've eaten these home baked lovelies, your neighbourhood barista is sure to lose a valued customer.

I have added orange zest to these because I absolutely adore the scent of oranges in biscotti but this recipe can be tweaked to your liking: substituting lemon zest or pistachios instead of almonds, dried cranberries and so on and so forth.

In fact, I won't be surprised if you'll be getting requests for these from every corner. Come to think of it, Mr. Hubby has already put in a request for a large batch for his office mates!

Buttery Soft Lemon Lavender Short bread Cookies

The Little Red Tractor by Nancy Marshall

"...if I can’t get to the lavender fields of Provence, in France...." I must find a way to bring the joy home!

 
It has been a few months past that I received a wonderful little sample of dried lavender flowers from Justin at Marxfoods. And these little lovelies I have used sparingly with love and care.

"too much of a good thing..." holds very true for lavender buds - use too much and you end up with an overpowering soapy feel & flavor. What is wonderful is just a teeny bit goes a long way in infusing desserts and custards and short breads with that lovely ephemeral lavender scent.

As far as I am concerned lemon and lavender are like two peas in a pod. How can you not? And so I decided to take my signature short bread recipe - you know that one I fixed for the pre-school kids way back when, here and tweaked it. The results are delicate and wonderful. The kids and hubby have gobbled several, warm out of the oven with ne'er a peep.

And I have been saved from ranting and raving about it's medicinal benefits as has been treasured though the ages in Ayurveda -insomnia, anxiety, depression, fights colds & cough.....So I guess, Mary Poppin's knew what she was all about, when she said "just a spoon full of sugar, helps the medicine go down"!

As for me - with one stroke I have appeased both glutton & gourmet!

ALFAJORES De Dulce De Leche Cookies from Argentina

Meet Argentina's favorite street food - Alfajores.

Think Buttery Shortbreads Sandwiched with Caramel & Rolled in Coconut Flakes

Though there are many variations of this cookie all throughtout South America, the most common fillings are chocolate, dulce de leche & jam. As Dulce de Leche goes, you can of course go the super market route but  as it's all the better home made.

How to make dulce de leche at home? Follow the cooked can method in one of my previous posts. You can make one can at a time but why bother when they'll keep for a long time in the pantry, unopened or refrigerated.

I first got hooked to these darlings as we continued to frequent our favorite Argentinian  gelato place Dolcezza in Georgetown Washington D.C for their superlative gelatos, coffees and of course Alfajores. Just so you know, Argentinian gelato varies from it's Italian cousin in that's its creamier and made without eggs.

These cookies are all the rage during the holidays of course but since when do you need an excuse to enjoy these treats? These are even better when dunked in dulce de leche as you enjoy them with your cuppa.

That's what we've been doing all Sunday afternoon!

Autumnal Pumpkin & Cranberry Drop Scones with Pumpkin, Spice & Maple Butter

It's the weirdest thing. As soon as autumn falls on my lap and temperatures begin to drop, I find the pressure begin to mount to do something, anything with pumpkin. I think it's an almost unhealthy obsession and best dealt with and got out of the way -  promptly.

This feeling also coincides with the time thoughts of the Thanksgiving feast menu begin churning in my head. It's a cacophony in there, I promise and can't be helped. Happens every time. And yes, I know it's only October. Like I said, can't be helped.

But I have another motive for fixing these scones - I wanted to experiment  around with a topping for these that would be delicious on other desserts as well. And by jove, we've got it!

The Pumpkin, spice and maple butter on this thing is to die for. Not to mention the melt-in-the mouth scones do a darn good job holding their own.

Don't let my cooky motives and inspiration for these lovely seasonal scones stop you for feasting on these yourself.

Go on then!

4th Of July ~ Red, White & Beautiful : Berryful Parcels in Buttery Coconut Pastry with Ricotta, Lemon & Coconut Cream

  

As a cook I am grateful that either by the hand of fate, the intent of the founding fathers or simply a roll of dice on histories game board that Independence Day in the US falls in July.

As is norm for this celebration, all desserts that grace the 4th of July BBQ table in some form or the other replicate the red, white and blue colors of the US flag in edible representation. Can you imagine, celebrating Independence Day in the dead of winter? What possible seasonal fruits (and vegetables) would we use? I for one draw a blank at korean purple yams and orange sweet potatoes! Hardly, the colors of the hour.

Case and point, as a cook I for one am glad the  holiday falls smack, dab in the middle of summer where there is a plethora of summer produce namely berries. What a no-brainer that is.

And yet, instead of the creamy concoctions I love the thought and bite of berries nestled in the butterest, flakiest of crusts, melting-in-the-mouth with each savoring bite, only to be outdone by the flavor of sweet summer berries, simply un-messed with and topped with a flavor-blasting lemony, coconutty ricotta topping.

 
Take into account, that even if the thought of dealing with pie crust makes you want to back into a corner, these very forgiving, frayed, dough tatters will bring out the 'Thor' in each one of your shrinking hearts. And after a single bite, you won't just have to take my word that these little morsels create red, white and beautiful fireworks entirely on their own! 

 

Go Green! Go Nuts! Pistachio Tea Biscuits

 
This week being St. Patrick's day is a celebration of things green and considering that pistachios are the only green nuts that I know of and goes wonderfully with tea, it seems the perfect week for some delicious Pistachio Tea Biscuits.

There is honest food and then there is honest food.

This right here is what a pistachio biscuit would be if it was on truth serum! Yah - it doesn't get more honest than this.

This isn't one of those pseudo green color filled things that hopes to be a pistachio biscuit. It is one to its very core. To the very heart of its 4 ingredients. Right there should say it all - an airy flaky biscuit with 4 ingredients none of which are butter, oil or shortening.

Whaaatttt???? (Dear Steve - this one's for you :)

This darling biscuit performs nothing short of a miracle. By using the goodness of whipped egg whites it manages to fulfill our innermost biscuit fantasies and then leaves us panting.

How lucky I was to come across it in a 2005 issue of Australian Womens Weekly. A time tested recipe that makes and will continue to make an appearance on our kitchen table at tea time (or coffee time) for a long long time.

A keeper - if you like honest pistachios, that is!

 

My Youngest Reader {not my sons} & Choconut Bars {with Pizazz}

Move over Mr. Cookie, there's a new Sheriff in town!

This is no exaggeration. I am hanging up my chocolate chip cookie recipes for good. 

I have always found most cookies a bit disappointing - sometimes marketed as chewy, often tasting like unbaked dough and at other times as hard as cardboard, I had resigned to live a life devoid of cookie nirvana.

And then lo and behold! Just a like a cool breeze on a hot summer's day, my blogger galpal Andrea of Can You Stay for Dinner, whom I consider a cookie & all round dessert aficionado, claimed to have The definitive answer to my cookie blues. She was speaking in heartfelt overtures of Congo Bars, also known as Blondies. Interest piqued and all, I researched this culinary delight that had never come to my attention before now and after extensive research googling myriad recipes and finally seeking asylum in my Fannie Farmer Cookbook, I figured between Andrea, Marion and myself, there would be no room for failure.

Sure enough! The first bite into these and my 8 year old son proclaimed,"Mum, you must name these something with Pizazz" and I wholeheartedly agreed. After all, mine are not blond nor do have any roots to Congolese cuisine. You see, the reason they are not blond is because I hesitate using white chocolate since cacao beans are well, not white so white chocolate seems to me akin to the result of some freaky experiment gone wrong, so I'd rather just avoid and stick to very brown, semi sweet chocolate chips.

Now this post is especially dedicated to the youngest reader of my blog - 10 year old, Aman. He sent me a lovely email after fixing my shortbread recipe and not only did he have rave reviews, he had a delightful story to share where he made his Mum's life rather difficult by refusing to do the baking till she did a grocery run and procured all of the ingredients as per the recipe - no substitutions! Sorry Mum!

He has also asked for another recipe, easy enough for him to fix in time for going back to school. So here's to Aman & back to school Choconut bars!

Back to Pre-School & Jammy 'Hallongrottor' Short Breads

I can't believe that for many of us here in the US, school's out this week!

Thanks to Ms. Carol my son's preschool teacher who thought it would be a great idea if I did a cooking demonstration with the kids, today we're taking these yummy jam filled short breads to preschool  - not just carrying a platter full of these to the kids but actually making these with them! What fun!

Let me tell you, I'm quite a stickler when it comes to short breads. Growing up we'd buy them in those blue metal tins and I thought they were blissful. Little did I know that once I made these Swedish delights at home, I'd never turn back to the ready made ones. Now, I'm known to run after Dad (who still fancies them) in the aisle pulling the can out of his hands and placing it back on the shelf with "Dad, you can't possibly buy these, they are so much better home made!".

Yeah..I've been known to be pushy with my loved ones when it comes to food!

These are truly  Hallongrottor - Swedish pastries which mean "Raspberry caves" owing to raspberry jam being filled in the thumb-print depressions.

Just a handful of ingredients stands between us and these delicious, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread - all purpose flour, cold butter, baking powder, sugar, pure vanilla extract & raspberry jam. Also needed are cupcake liners.

I'm fixing a batch at home to carry with me for the parents and teachers.

Cook's Note - Use store bought jam (not chunky) because I found my homemade a little too watery

Also don't use the foil cupcake liners - they tend to over brown the short breads.

Preheat the oven to 400 deg F.

   

Ina food processor, mixer or bread machine (dough cycle), place all the dry ingredients - the flour, sugar & baking powder and give it a mix till these are well blended.

Cut the cold butter up into 1/2" chunks and set aside.

 

Once the flour mixture is blended add the butter few chunks at a time through the feeding tube.

 

Mix for about a minute or so till the mixture resembles soft bread crumbs. Add 1-1/2 tbs cold water and allow the flour mixture to mix for another minute or so till larger dough chunks have formed.

Cook's Note - You may need to turn off the machine and use a spatula to get the flour from the sides, break up chunks and give it a mix during the process.

 

Empty the dough into a large mixing bowl. Use clean hands and mold into a ball. Do not over work. Just enough to form into a smooth ball.

   

Line a baking tray with about 24 cup cake liners. Use 2 if needed. Parents will appreciate that half of mine are plain and others are 'transformer' liners..smiles...

On a clean working surface, divide the dough ball into 2 equal parts.

 

Roll each one out to make 2 dough log, snakes or ropes about 1-1/4" diameter

Use a butter knife and cut  each length into 12 portions.

 

Roll each dough portion between the palms of your hands. Flatten slightly.

 

Use your thumb and make an indentation in the middle of the flatten dough disk. Place into the cup cake liner. Continue till all the dough portions have been used up.

 

These are now ready for the raspberry jam filling.

 

Spoon 1/2 tsp raspberry jam into each of the short breads. Continue till all the short breads are jam filled. 

 

Place in a preheated oven for 15-17 minutes. The tops should be pale & the jam should be runny.

Do not over bake and brown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Helping ourselves to a few with a hot cup of tea before we head out to school!

 

Over at the school...

Please note - the pics have been fuzzied up to protect the privacy of the children.

Here we go...

Fascinated with the mixer - installing the beast!

A small chat about the ingredients...Ms Carol is engrossed - Kids, not so much!

Once the beast is grinding...."that's too loud", the kids yell!

Everyone wants a peak!

Ooeey, Gooey dough!

Little hands working the dough!

Here comes the yummy jam!

Oven ready!

 
While these bake, everyone is excited with the arrival of Sandy the service dog!

And it was definitely my cue to leave. I don't know how teacher's do it - day in and day out. As fun as it was, it sure was exhausting!

Back in the solitude of home, I'm ready for another cup of tea & a few more of these yummies.

That was fun and hat's off to Ms. Carol and teachers like her who work wonders with our children everyday. A fountain of energy they must be!

As another school year draws to an end, I give special thanks to Ms. Carol, Ms. Suzie, Mrs Ranby & Ms. Liz for giving my sons such a fantastic school year that they are eager to get into their classroom every single day - even on weekends if they could!

As for myself, I once again sink into the nestling comfort of these butter soft shortbreads with their warm jam filled centers....sigh...

 

 

Recipe for

Yummy Jammy 'Hallongrottor' Short breads

Preparation time - 15 minutes

Baking time - 15-17 minutes

Shopping list

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 sticks butter

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

Raspberry jam

Baking Method -

Preheat the oven to 400 deg F

In a food processor, mixer or bread machine (dough cycle), place all the dry ingredients - the flour, sugar & baking powder and give it a mix till these are well blended.

Cut the cold butter up into 1/2" chunks and set aside.

Once the flour mixture is blended add the butter few chunks at a time through the feeding tube.

Mix for about a minute or so till the mixture resembles soft bread crumbs. Add 1-1/2 tbs cold water and allow the flour mixture to mix for another minute or so till larger dough chunks have formed.

Cook's Note - You may need to turn off the machine and use a spatula to get the flour from the sides, break up chunks and give it a mix during the process.

Empty the dough into a large mixing bowl. Use clean hands and mold into a ball. Do not over work. Just enough to form into a smooth ball.

Line a baking tray with about 24 cup cake liners. Use 2 if needed. Parents will appreciate that half of mine are plain and others are 'transformer' liners..smiles...

On a clean working surface, divide the dough ball into 2 equal parts.

Roll each one out to make 2 dough log, snakes or ropes about 1-1/4" diameter

Use a butter knife and cut  each length into 12 portions.

Roll each dough portion between the palms of your hands. Flatten slightly.

Use your thumb and make an indentation in the middle of the flatten dough disk. Place into the cup cake liner. Continue till all the dough portions have been used up.

These are now ready for the raspberry jam filling.

Spoon 1/2 tsp raspberry jam into each of the short breads. Continue till all the short breads are jam filled. 

Place in a preheated oven for 15-17 minutes. The tops should be pale & the jam should be runny.

Do not over bake and brown.

Enjoy!